Our battleships lie waiting. It is positively insulting! Coal, bought by Russia, is in steamers close alongside and is not allowed to be put on board. "Who prevents it?" you ask. Miserable, beggarly, broken Spain. Undoubtedly the hand of England is visible in this. The Spaniards make no secret of it.
At 1 p.m. permission came for each ship to take in 400 tons. Sailors and officers, dirty and black, hasten to begin coaling. White tunics and cap-covers are nowhere to be seen. Everything is black with coal-dust. Faces are black as soot, and only teeth gleam white.
October 18th.—They say we leave for Tangier to-morrow morning. I have been busy all day, and not able to write.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Admiral Rojdestvensky's Christian name. "Boyarin" means "the lord."
[2] On September 17th, 1904, the battleship Orel went aground when being towed to sea.
[3] A small wooden box in which sailors keep small articles of private property, such as watches, letters, photographs, etc.